Message to staff from Chief Executive Tracy MyhillAs I’m sure you all know, yesterday we tragically lost one of our colleagues in North Wales as a result of a fatal traffic collision. Two of our colleagues remain in hospital in Bangor and Stoke.
I know you all share my shock and sadness at the loss of a colleague and, to many of you in North Wales, and particularly in Pwllheli, a friend. I feel deeply affected by these events as your Chief Executive. It's impossible to put into words the sadness this brings us all.
In a service where our job is to save lives, to care for others when they need us most and to remain calm and professional in the most testing of circumstances, it is all the more difficult to cope with the loss of one of our own. We feel it more acutely and more personally.
I also recognise the distressing situation which our colleagues who dealt with the 999 call and who were called to scene were faced with, having to deal with the death of a colleague and the serious injury of two others. I want to formally record here our thanks and admiration for those colleagues in Control and for those who attended at scene for the professionalism with which they conducted themselves in such difficult circumstances.
Our colleague’s loss is devastating for his family, friends and for us as the wider Welsh Ambulance Service family. The outpouring of support, from around the UK and further afield, for our colleague, his family and friends, for our colleagues injured and for our service as a whole, is truly overwhelming.
There have been literally hundreds of tweets and messages on Facebook offering us condolences and support. If you have a moment, take some time to read them – it shows in what high esteem you are all held by the public, something which I hope will make you feel proud to work for us. My inbox is full of similar messages of support from ambulance colleagues across the UK and our colleagues in police and fire and rescue.
At the time of writing, the names of the deceased and injured have not been formally released by North Wales Police. This is to give families the time they need before those names are made public. This is why I have not mentioned names here, which I wanted to you know in case you think the absence of names seems odd under the circumstances. Of course, once those names are in the public domain, we will share them with you.
Richard Lee, our Director of Operations (Interim) has also written to colleagues at Pwllheli and Caernarfon stations who have been so directly affected by this tragedy. Colleagues at those stations will also be receiving a copy in the post and it will be put up on station noticeboards.
Whatever our challenges, we are one organisation, one family and this tragedy has demonstrated that, when we are at our lowest point, we have the capacity to work together to get through it and to support each other.
I have never been prouder than in the last 24 hours to lead this organisation. To see so many of you working together to support each other, the family of our deceased colleague and the injured at such a difficult time has been awesome and, at times, I have felt almost helpless.
While yesterday is a day none of us will forget, I know that we will be stronger because of it and will move forward together to make this organisation the best it can be – in good times and bad.
And don’t forget, if you’ve been affected personally by what’s happened, our Wellbeing Support Service can help.
You are also invited to contact Care First for support, the providers of our new employee assistance programme.
You are all in my thoughts.
Best wishes
Tracy
29 Apr 2016 17:54
John Clift
